The Gary Johnson criminal justice plan is to get the government out of people’s business and keep people out of prison cells in the process.

Waging war on the “War on Drugs”

Johnson thinks one of the main reasons so many people are incarcerated in the United States is the criminalization of drugs. About 14 percent of prisoners are held within the federal system, and almost half of those have a drug charge. Of the remaining 86 percent in state prisons, about 17 percent committed non-violent drug offenses.

While he’s expressed personal support for legalizing marijuana and is an unabashed smoker of the herb himself (though he’s vowed to abstain during his presidential run and potential presidency), he is now saying that it should be re-scheduled from a class 1 substance to a lower level, and that states will decide whether or not to legalize.

The rescheduling would both ease tension between states that have legalized pot for medical and recreational use, and it would open marijuana up to research and development.

Johnson has spoken in support of replacing criminal charges for drug use with rehabilitation and harm reduction programs (like needle exchanges), but his campaign site says that, as president, he wouldn’t work to legalize other drugs besides marijuana. We might expect to see a push for the decriminalization of other drugs, though, under a Johnson presidency.

Racism and policing

“He has expressed support for the movement, though he hasn’t developed a comprehensive plan for mending what he sees as the problem.”

He has expressed support for the movement, though he hasn’t developed a comprehensive plan for mending what he sees as the problem. But during a Fusion forum in mid-August, his VP pick Bill Weld said that they plan to look to states that have “good statistics” regarding policing, and that police departments should model themselves after those.

Weld also said that a Johnson ticket would work to train judges to more effectively prosecute officers who break the law.

Sentencing

Johnson doesn’t believe in mandatory minimum sentencing. In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed into law a bill that set mandatory minimums for people convicted of certain crimes back. Johnson thinks that judges should have more discretion when determining how long sentences should be for each case.

As for the death penalty, Johnson is against it. That wasn’t always the case, but he explained in his 2012 book “Seven Principles of Good Government” why he now opposes it:

I changed my mind because I recognized that the risks and costs associated with the death penalty are too high. … Killing one innocent person who was wrongly accused is not worth executing 99 guilty people. DNA evidence and judicial appeals have shown many people are mistakenly convicted.

His defense of private prisons comes at a time when the Department of Justice has decided to eventually stop using private prisons after a couple of investigations found security and oversight issues in such facilities.

Takeaway

Johnson wants to significantly change the way drug use is treated in this country and to reform sentencing laws to reduce the number of people in prison; he also wants to take steps to identify and eliminate racial bias in policing and sentencing.

And in typical Libertarian fashion, he’s perfectly comfortable with letting the private sector operate the prisons in which a smaller number of people would be incarcerated on Johnson’s watch.

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Yet, Johnson has said that, “As Governor, I didn’t create a single job.” His point, of course, being that government doesn’t “create” jobs. Entrepreneurs, businesses, and economic prosperity are the building blocks for job growth.

Governors Johnson and Weld believe that we must allow a regulatory and tax environment that incentivizes fairness. Not one that picks winners and losers. The purpose of government regulation is to protect citizens from bad actors and the harm they might do to health, safety, and property. But regulation should not be used to manipulate the economy, to manage private lives and businesses, or to place unnecessary burdens on those who make our economy work.

Today, the reason so much corruption and power thrive in Washington, D.C., is that powerful corporate interests actually benefit from over-regulation. After all, they have the resources to comply with onerous laws. But for the average American, entrepreneur, or small businessperson, they don’t have teams of high-priced attorneys to help them navigate the bureaucracy.

We simply need to apply common sense to regulatory policy. Let’s get rid of the unnecessary laws and taxes that syphon the resources businesses use to create the jobs we need.

Governors Gary Johnson and Bill Weld helped create the conditions for job growth in their states. In the White House, they will create the conditions for massive job growth across the entire country.